des_201_pandoras_boxfandomcom-20200214-history
Sound Design 2
James BOUIN 1702898 As this game is a form of psychological horror, sound and music are an important aspect of the player's experience. In fact, no other game-genres need music and sound effect as much as horror games do. It communicates much stronger emotions and sensations like scare, Goosebumps and building up tension. MUSIC In Pandora's Box, there will be a background music adapting on where the player is and creating tension accordingly. The music chosen is "Turkish Marsh" played on a music box over and over. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Ju-4qJc3o The reason why I chose this specific music is for the simple melody which fits the game well. Music boxes are known to have a "scary reputation" but also, as a metaphor, this could be the Pandora Box playing from the inside. The sound of sanity played to an insane person can help them cure: like musicotherapy. Another good thing about this music is the non-aggressive-side of it, compared to most scary games' music. This allows the player to focus better on the decisions he will make. It also means the track doesn't get annoying as fast as other songs would. The tempo of the melody also fits the heartrate of a person in stress/ panic with 126 BPM, which will unconsciously trick the heartrate of the player to increase, from listening to the song in the background. Whenever the player enters a puzzle room, the music will play slightly faster and get louder until he finishes it or fails. This will add some pressure/ stress and enhance the gameplay. SOUND EFFECTS Sound effects are a very effective way to break the linear music track and tell the player something is going on. For example, if Pandora sees hallucinations in the corridors of the hospital, sound effects such as laughing, crying or walking will be heard. When the Narrator decides to shut doors, the slamming doors will make extra noise to scare the Pandora player. NARRATOR His voice is a deep old man's voice but as it is only heard through the speaker system, it becomes a sort of "blurry" voice that low-quality loudspeakers make. The voice is still clear enough to be understood by both players. He speaks very slowly. Upon flipping the coin, the narrator says, "Who will I be today?". Just like the design, sound effects will be relative to the coin toss, but only visible/ audible to the Narrator player. If the Narrator's coin flip leads them to guide the player, there will be chirping noises playing over the music. Else, a bear growling will be heard. PANDORA Her voice is a high feminine voice with a confused tone. She stutters slightly but speaks clearly so that every player can understand her. She speaks quite fast. Regularly, Pandora will speak to herself. But the more she gets her sanity back, the less it happens. Examples of lines she could say: "Did somebody say something?" "Who's there?... Oh, it's just me." "I've seen this before. Or have I?" "Leave me alone!”